Q: I planted three Flowering Yoshino Cherry trees from pots about four years ago.Β Watered and fertilized the same for all these years. Two of the trees are doing okay. For some reason, one of the cherry trees started to drops its leaves. There is some kind of white sap coming out from the lower part of this one tree.
I do not know if the sap has anything to do with the tree dying. Do you know what might be causing the tree to look wilted and leaves to drop? This started before the high temperatures we have been getting.
A:Β Cherry trees and related fruit trees may ooze sap and drop leaves in response to injury. The injury can be due to freeze damage, insect feeding, disease, wounding from tools, hail, or sun scald of the bark. If you see any sawdust around the wound or in the sap, insects become a prime suspect.
The location of the wounds may be significant since some insects usually attack the lower trunk, others the upper branches. If you only see the cracking on the sunniest sides of the tree, the scalding is more likely.
From your photo, there doesnβt seem to be any obvious injuries from tools. If you experienced any freezing last winter or hail damage, they are possibly to blame. Please let me know if you come up with any more clues to help solve this puzzle.
Peter L. Warren is the urban horticulture agent for the Pima County Cooperative Extension and the University of Arizona. Questions may be emailed to
